They all thought he was gone. But he was alive and trapped inside his own body for ten years.

In January 1988, Martin Pistorius, aged twelve, fell inexplicably sick. First he lost his voice and stopped eating. Then he slept constantly and shunned human contact. Doctors were mystified. Within eighteen months he was mute and wheelchair-bound. Martin’s parents were told an unknown degenerative disease left him with the mind of a baby and less than two years to live.

Martin was moved to care centers for severely disabled children. The stress and heartache shook his parents’ marriage and their family to the core. Their boy was gone. Or so they thought.

Ghost Boy is the heart-wrenching story of one boy’s return to life through the power of love and faith. In this audiobook, listeners hear of a parent’s resilience, the consequences of misdiagnosis, abuse at the hands of cruel caretakers, and the unthinkable duration of Martin’s mental alertness betrayed by his lifeless body.

We also see a life reclaimed—a business created, a new love kindled—all from a wheelchair. Martin’s emergence from his own darkness invites us to celebrate our own lives and fight for a better life for others.

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Quotes & Awards

“It is a deeply affecting and at times shocking book…The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly but with a happy ending.”

Sunday Times (London)

“Deeply moving.”

Mail on Sunday (London)

“[Pistorius] is almost fealess in the way he confronts emotional reality.”

Scotland on Sunday

“‘The person inside the shell’ tells his own story, voiced by Simon Bubb, with humor and a philosophical mindset… Bubb’s voice is wry and warm as he recounts observations from a life on the outside looking in. At times, he expresses a tone of frustration over a balky communications device or anxiety over a long-distance romance. A solemn tone voices the arguments between Pistorius’ parents. The first-person account ends hopefully. His story of perseverance and family ties lets listeners into his rare world.”

AudioFile

A New York Times Bestseller

Winner of the 2016 Audie Award for Best Autobiography/Memoir Narration

About the Author

Martin Pistorius was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1975. An unknown illness at the age of twelve left him wheelchair bound and unable to speak, and he spent fourteen years in institutions. In 2001 he learned to communicate via computer, making friends and changing his life. In 2008 he met the love of his life, Joanna, and immigrated to the United Kingdom. In 2009 they married, and in 2010 he started his own business. He describes himself a Geek with a wicked sense of humor and a love of technology. He loves animals, is a keen photographer, enjoys watching cricket, Formula 1 Grand Prix and films, listening to music, spending time with friends and, most of all, being with his wife.

About the Narrator

Simon Bubb is an audiobook narrator known for his subtlety, nuanced tone, and facility with accents as an integral component of his narration, according to AudioFile magazine.

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